In other words, even though Jesus was sinless, God the
Father allowed His Son to take upon Himself the sins of the
world. He allowed Jesus to be punished for us, so that we
could find atonement, or forgiveness and reconciliation with
the Father, through His Sacrifice. That is why John the
Baptist said upon recognizing Jesus as the Savior of all
mankind:

". . . Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world."
John 1:29b, KJV

Why was Jesus obligated to die such a gruesome death in the
first place? Couldn't it have been avoided? In a word, no.
According to the laws of the Old Testament, the remission of
sin could only be achieved through the sacrifice of an
unblemished goat or lamb. That is why we find the ritual
sacrifice of animals throughout the Old Testament. It was a
foreshadow of better things to come in Christ. Thus, as Paul
and other writers explain, Jesus became the Lamb of God of
the New Testament. By His dying on the Cross, He became the
Author of the New Covenant between God and man. He became
the Final Sacrifice. There needs to be no more:

"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins."
Matthew 26:28, KJV

"And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament,
that by means of death, for the redemption of the
transgressions that were under the first testament, they
which are called might receive the promise of eternal
inheritance . . . And almost all things are by the law purged
with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
Hebrews 9:15, 22, KJV

"And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the
blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that
of Abel."
Hebrews 12:24, KJV

Jesus accepted the guilty verdict of His accusers; He took
the whipping for us; He took the death sentence which we
truly deserve; by His own loving choice. We were all held
hostage by sin, and Jesus paid the ransom price for our
freedom, through His sufferings upon the Cross. In the
Gospels of Mark and Luke He said:

"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but
to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Mark 10:45, KJV

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal
the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the
Lord."
Luke 4:18-19, KJV

The Apostle Paul also tells us "For ye are bought with a
price . . .", and what an expensive price it was indeed! In
other words, Jesus didn't look out for Himself first. He
wasn't concerned with His own wellbeing; He was only
concerned about our wellbeing, and our future in the Kingdom
of His Father. Jesus came to fulfill a mission, but He had
to be willing to temporarily forsake His place in Heaven,
and His life on Earth, in order to fulfill it. That is why
Paul also writes:

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took
upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness
of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled
himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and
given him a name which is above every name: That at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father."
Philippians 2:5-11, KJV

Jesus' life was not self-centered, but rather God-centered.
He wanted to please His Father first and above all; and so
He gladly laid down His life for us, as atonement for our
sins. Jesus didn't have to do it, but He did. He obeyed His
Father's Will, because He knew that it was absolutely
necessary for our Salvation. In His moments of agony while
in the Garden, He said:

". . . Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
Luke 22:42, KJV

And that same night, He took the path that led to the Cross,
when He was betrayed into the hands of sinful men. Would any
of us have had the same degree of love which must have been
required in order to make such a difficult choice? And it
was indeed an act of love. As the Apostle John wrote:

"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down
his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren."
1 John 3:16, KJV

Many so-called wise men, holy men, philosophers and teachers
have come and gone down through the centuries. They have
each impressed men with their wisdom, and inspired men with
their teachings and examples of love, patience, and
tolerance; but none of them, not one single one of them,
ever did what Jesus Christ did. None of them paid the
Ultimate Price. None of them opened the way to Eternal Life.
Only Jesus could do that, and He willingly did so. Not only
that, but He warned us of those false prophets who had come
before Him, and of those who would undoubtedly come after
Him. In the Gospels He tells us:

"All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but
the sheep did not hear them."
John 10:8, KJV

"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it
were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
Matthew 24:24, KJV

Jesus knew from the beginning that there was no other way,
but the way of the Cross; and by going the torturous way of
the Cross, He in fact became the Way to Eternal Life. That
is why in the Gospel of John He tells us:

". . . I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me."
John 14:6b, KJV

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
John 10:28, KJV

Some time later, the Apostles affirmed Jesus' teachings when
they said such things as the following:

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved."
Acts 4:12, KJV

". . . Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved . . ."
Acts 16:31, KJV

The Apostle Paul also tells us that Jesus is the Author and
the Finisher of our faith. Jesus started it all, and without
Him, it would have never been:

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of
the throne of God."
Hebrews 12:2, KJV

The Bible plainly teaches us that we simply cannot ever be
good enough, or perfect enough, to deserve God's love and
mercy. How much less the Salvation, and the Heavenly Life
which He offers us? These are things which only He can
bestow upon us because of His great love towards us. As John
also wrote:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life."
John 3:16, KJV

The Apostle James also plainly states that anything good we
have in our lives, is a gift come down from God above:

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning."
James 1:17, KJV


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